Dementia Friendly Newcastle

Being Well Dementia Friendly in Newcastle logo

Newcastle is committed to becoming a Dementia Friendly city. This is a place where people living with dementia are:

  • understood
  • respected
  • supported
  • included
  • involved
  • confident they can contribute to their community
  • have choice and control in their lives
  • can find local help and support

It is a place where everyone is aware of and understands dementia.

Newcastle City Council is working in partnership with local communities and businesses. They want to ensure people with dementia and their carers feel safe and live in the way they want to in their community.


Understanding Dementia Sessions

To help you understand how dementia may impact on a persons life, how you can make a difference, take part in a learning session.

Dementia Friends Information Sessions give you a better understanding of the types of dementia and how it effects people and their carers.

FutureLearn run some free online courses created by Universities where you can learn more about:

VOICE  at Newcastle University, involves members of the public in research. You can become a member of VOICE and work with academics to improve the focus, quality, relevance and impact of research, to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

Unison offer their trade union members free training and learning opportunities. They have some dementia awareness sessions in Newcastle. Contact your local representative for more information.

Read the InformationNOW article on dementia.


Dementia Friendly Activities

Find all the dementia friendly activities in Newcastle in our Events & Activities section on InformationNOW.  Choose ‘dementia’ as the type of activity. You can also search by postcode and keyword.

Dementia friendly activities and groups available in Newcastle include:

Dementia Housing

There are two Assisted Living Schemes in Newcastle at Dewley House and Hodgson House.

There are several care homes that offer support for someone with dementia in Newcastle.


Dementia Space at The Grainger Market

This is a pop up shop at The Grainger Market where you can find out about dementia, prevention and living well with the condition.

Wellbeing clinics, such as Blood pressure clinics take place in this space.


Tips for starting conversations with people living with dementia

Alzheimer’s Society’s research shows that many people are worried about ‘saying the wrong thing’ to people living with dementia. Almost all of us know someone affected yet, most people living with dementia feel isolated and lonely. A friendly face or a listening ear can make a great difference.

You can take action by starting a conversation with someone living with dementia. It can be difficult to know what to say. You can read more about communicating with a person living with dementia:

How to communicate with a person with dementia | Alzheimer’s Society

How to communicate with someone with dementia remotely  – Dementia UK

  • ‘Talk to me, smile, be a little patient and give me time to reply.’ 
  • ‘A simple ‘hello’, ask about the weather, anything that you feel comfortable with.’
  • ‘Just be yourself and yes, we will make mistakes but it’s ok to laugh along with us.’
  • ‘I love it when people ask me questions. It gives me an opportunity to show that people with dementia exist, that we can still contribute to things going on around us and that life goes on. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel like me again’
  • ‘Just don’t ask if I remember.’
  • ‘Don’t be afraid. All it takes is a conversation to see we’re still us.’

Navigating the Maze films

A series of webinars have been held for professionals and link workers related to accessing services for people with dementia.  The films are on the InformationNOW You Tube channel and cover: dementia research and innovation with Professor Lynne Corner, Centre for Ageing and Vitality; Dementia and housing including assistive technology; Dementia and housing including equipment and aids; Housing options including: assisted living, home care and residential care


Protecting vulnerable people

There is a national scheme called the Herbert Protocol, to record useful information about a vulnerable person that can be used by police if the person goes missing.  Carers, family members and friends can download and complete the form to give vital details about the person they care for including: medication needed, emergency contacts, places they’ve lived previously and a photograph.

The form can then be handed straight to Police if needed. It can make a real difference.  It could help reduce the amount of time a vulnerable person is missing, bringing them to safety even quicker.  For more information visit Northumbria Police’s website.


Resources to become more dementia friendly

Alzheimers Society have a range of dementia friendly resources on their website, this includes:

Dementia Services Development Centre have a Dementia Friendly Design Tool with dementia friendly design tips for care environments, public spaces, Leisure and activity centres, libraries, supermarkets and shops, transport and more.


Useful Information

Read our article on How to tailor InformationNOW to your access needs 

Tips for Christmas Independent Age have some tips on helping  people who are sharing Christmas (or any other celebration) with someone living with dementia. Tips like finding a film on the many channels that they know and can enjoy; help them feel involved with tasks they can do in the kitchen or wrapping presents etc.

Last updated: February 29, 2024